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Monday, October 8, 2012

furnishing in progress

The best part about moving into a new house is filling it with goodies. Sometimes there are just too many lovelies out there to make a decision (although sometimes the corresponding price tag helps you with that). Stores are evil. Everywhere I turn, I see something that catches my eye and if I purchased all that I liked, I'd have one gigantic eclectic mix. Each room could be its own genre with a distinct color palette and if you had to ask me to choose one coordinating color for the house, I'd be up at all hours of the night agonizing over the decision. My problem (well, one of them at least), is that I love, love color and cannot make up my blasted mind.

The recent shopping spree has me all giddy and makes my heart go pitter-patter. OR perhaps that's the sticker shock! I'm excited to fill the house with grown-up stuff (albeit slowly) and donate the old teenage/college/starter furniture to others.

~ M's Bedroom ~

It's PINK and not your typical soft, girly pink. Oh no, a bold pink (Valspar Very Berry, 1002-1A) has found its way onto the accent wall and definitely "hotter" than the chip. I would fall over and die if the entire room was this color. I'll have to post another picture when there's a bit more sun (been overcast lately) so you can see the full intensity. I thought I did a decent job on the edging but I noticed every little wave and so I "cheated" with this technique: taped out the width of a paint stick on the ceiling and adjacent walls and went to town. When you're close (second image below) you can see the overlap but from a distance it just makes the pink wall look slightly larger.

Note: Builder's grade paint is
super absorbent. I used a paint/primer combo and it still took many,
many coats. Talk about thirsty walls!

cheating...

with painted adjacent wall and ceiling

more pop on the floor

"naked" vanity

There was a mix-up with M's bed so the mattress is sitting on slats on the floor for the time being. The little desk is waiting for final placement of the bed before it receives its first coat of paint. If it goes against the pink wall, it will likely be purple (at M's request) and transformed into a vanity by hanging a mirror on the wall (likely with a turquoise frame).

~ Master Bedroom ~

We fell in love with a black poster/canopy bed and had to say no because it would be too close the ceiling fan. Can you imagine that this master bedroom is too small? If RH would offer a 4-foot extension of the MBR when one opts for the FR extension, I would not have this first world dilemma right now. It almost makes me want to rip out the fan just so I can get the bed. ;) I suppose we could have still purchased the bed and not put up the canopy but instead, we continued our search and found a great package deal on the set below (minus the mirror and plus another nightstand).

~ Morning Room ~

The morning room is coming along but definitely is missing some finishing touches like blinds, curtains, and accessories. The red cabinet was too wide to go into the foyer (boo!) but it fit nicely between the wall and the patio doors (score!). It's pretty much like the catalog picture right now -- EMPTY! The counter-height table was purchased around the same time we bought our first house some 4.5 years ago. It's actually espresso but I couldn't find a close enough match for a catalog picture. It seats eight when fully expanded into a square but we have it condensed and are using two chairs (not shown) at the kitchen island. The rug was a new purchase (8x11) and I taped up the bottom edges of that puppy and added a 8x10 pad to protect the floor. No scratches on my pretty floor, please! I'd like to add a short valence or cornice board but haven't found the right fabric and am leaning toward stripes of varying thicknesses with a similar color palette as the rug. If all else fails, I suppose I can buy some canvas or muslin and paint my own.

Morning Room (so far!)

~ Living Room ~

This club chair was purchased at 90% off and I can't wait for it to be delivered! I don't know why it appeals to me so much; perhaps it's the blue/turquoise color kick I'm on or perhaps I just need a bit more quirkiness in my life (or home). This chair takes the track arm to a new extreme (it's tall) and although the picture doesn't provide much perspective, it's a pretty decent size. I'll post another when this baby arrives but I definitely need to find/make a pillow with some punch to it.

my cube

I also found a chair that is somewhat similar in style but smaller, fancier, and much more expensive. It's definitely a lot more than I'd care to spend on a chair so I'll wait this one out and hope it goes on sale. Heck, if the price is great, I just might buy a pair! (that thud you heard was my husband either falling over or beating his head on a desk/wall.) Behold, the club chair! I'll even take it in a neutral fabric. ;)

want

Speaking of waiting for sales, I have been pining over this piece for far too long and snagged it at a great price. I love the idea of using this as a linen cabinet but that just won't work with this layout so instead, it's going to make an appearance in the family room along with my grandfather's rocking chair.

Do you recall from a previous post about my uncertainty in the paint color for a certain chest of drawers? I'm still struggling with a decision but have eliminated state blue with the addition of the blue cube since I want the chair to be a feature. Since I have no idea how long until I'll be slapping paint on the living room walls, I'm thinking of not doing cream because of potential for blending into the wall color. This leaves me with a sage green (and a rubbed coat of wood stain), very similar to the above cabinet. Between the flaking and cracked veneer and the decorative trim coming off, this little guy needs some work lovin'.

in need of some TLC and a facelift

Color dilemma averted, right? Not a chance! All of that was blown out of the
window when I happened upon this little multi-colored beauty. (I am so
not paying $1018 for an accent piece but if someone were to gift it to
me, I'd warmly accept it into the house! ;) ) Now, I am thinking of raiding
the oops! paints at the local home improvement store and making some
stripey goodness of my own. The chances of this happening before the
end of the calendar year are very, very slim BUT it's good to have
projects, yes? Plus, it would coordinate with many color schemes since I
apparently have a difficult time sticking to one and if I paint the morning room cornices, I'll already have a decent palette of paint. Thoughts? (on the
color(s), not my indecisiveness)

inspiration cabinet

~ Miscellaneous ~

The other rooms in the house are still in disarray or not nearly ready for me to display them in the blogosphere (read: yikes! I'm not claiming that as part of my house!) Most of the blinds are up (some top-down/bottom-up and some temporary). The temporary ones will eventually be replaced with some soft shades/silhouette shades for a more elegant fee. The bathroom windows (lower half) currently have a rice paper film for a bit of privacy and will eventually be replaced with cafe-style shutters.

~ Teaser ~

Since my art room (aka dining room) is next to the living room with the (soon-to-arrive) green cabinet and because my rolling cabinet's doors don't match the base, I dressed it up with this pretty contact paper.

It's going to be slow process but eventually, the interior of the house will get there. I just need to focus on repainting and reflooring the old house and get that baby on the market...

It's from the Paula Deen Home collection -- The Bag Lady's Cabinet. It comes in three colors: sage green (shown), linen (cream), and tobacco (rich brown). The glass doors run the length of the cabinet. How they get their glass to look almost nonexistent in the picture is a trick I need to learn! There are a total of eight drawers (four on each side--two shallow, two deep). What looks to be four small drawers on the bottom are actually two larger drawers. 54W x 20D x 66H.

I was able to get a lower price at a closeout sale at a local store but it looks like it's running about $1400 - $1600 at other places. If you like this piece, the "Paula Deen Down Home Paula's Dish Pantry" might catch your fancy. The "Down Home Paula's Kitchen Organizer Cabinet" is also super cute too.

My cabinet arrives on Saturday and I can't wait to see it. You need one. :)

Ooooooooo...I am definitely bookmarking those for later! I may end up having to take the living room and converting it to a craft room, so anything with lockable doors is very attractive right now! My boys are endlessly curious and would have a field day with my stuff. :)

It's so tough! I stumbled upon my first Home Goods store and was in full restraint. If I had money to burn, I would have walked out with a stool, turquoise vases and side table, and a cute mustard cabinet with butterfly pulls.

Love it all! Decorating is so much fun, no? Slso in the same boat on having to stop somewhere -- two new leather couches, a sideboard and a funky end table are on their way. Big purchases are on a hiatus here for awhile. And I'll second you on the paint suck. Started painting over the weekend and could not believe how much those walls just absorb. Even the super thick stain blocker primer.

We need a little hiatus too. Our attic is in need of some seating and we're leaning toward $15 bean bag chairs since it's now a game/play/reading room. I keep telling myself it's because my hubby and I can't compromise on the right style/height/size sofa.

I'm not looking forward to painting but it must be done but I'm going to delay that too!

your colors are great...regardless of what you decide! lots of pop. i'm not a matchy matchy person and i think my mom and aunt are trying to steer me into that lol. i keep tellin em i like what i like. *shrug*

i still haven't got all my blinds up but i'm starting to get outta my indecisive funk and making a bit more progress. hopefully by the end of this month i'll have some pics to share. have fun!

Thanks! I like that you're not afraid of color or of thinking outside of the box. I can't wait to see your selections!

If you want to help kick start the blind installation process, take a stroll through your neighborhood in the evening and see how clearly you can view the house interiors from the street when the lights are on.